Avot 4:13
Rabbi Shimon said: There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty – but the crown of a good name supersedes them all (oleh al gabeihen).
Stuart A. Cohen in his The Three Crowns: Structures of Communal Politics in Early Rabbinic Jewry, explores the tripartite division articulated in this mishna by Rabbi Shimon. He notes that Rabbi Shimon, who is the famed Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, had strong political opinions. He had a negative view of the Roman government (Shabbat 33b) but was also chosen to travel to Rome to advocate on behalf of the Jewish people (Megilla 17a). Interestingly, Cohen argues, the concept of a crown representing dominion is not clear from Biblical texts. He suggests that Rabbi Shimon was appropriating the common cultural symbol of power to provide a moral lesson based on Torah wisdom.
Within Tanach there is a clear delineation between these three sections of power. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks likens this division to the checks and balances later recommended by Montesquieu in the 18th century. Rabbi Sacks writes that “the three roles were quite distinct. Indeed the Hebrew Bible as a whole is an interweaving of their different voices. The priest speaks of separation and order, purity and impurity, the holy and the secular. The prophet speaks of relationships: justice and righteousness, compassion and mercy. The king uses the language of chochmah, (worldly) wisdom.”
These dynasties ceased with the destruction of the Temple. While the Sages embodied elements of all three of these voices, according to Rabbi Sacks they primarily viewed themselves as heirs to prophecy. Torah is the extension of prophecy into the post-Biblical era.
The Sages in Avot D’Rebbe Natan quote Rabbi Shimon from this mishna and accentuate the importance of the crown of Torah:
How does the crown of priesthood work? Even if someone paid all the silver and gold in the world, we could not give him the crown of priesthood… For the crown of kingship as well – even if someone paid all silver and gold in the world, we could not give him the crown of kingship… But the crown of Torah is different. For anyone who wishes to partake in the work of Torah may come and partake… That is, go and labor in words of Torah and do not occupy yourself with meaningless things.
Likewise, Maimonides in his halakhic code codifies this view:
With three crowns was Israel crowned – with the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of kingship. The crown of priesthood was bestowed on Aaron and his descendants. The crown of kingship was conferred on David and his successors. But the crown of Torah is for all Israel. Whoever wishes, let them come and take it. Do not suppose that the other two crowns are greater than that of Torah… The crown of Torah is greater than the other two crowns.
This perspective, which highlights the centrality and democratization of Torah learning, would align well with other portrayals of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in the Talmud, particularly his halakhic opinions which prioritize learning Torah and make it primary above all else.
Yet this is not what Rabbi Shimon emphasizes in this mishna. Here there is no clear delineation of value between Torah, kingship, and priesthood. They are all on equal ground, and all subservient to the ultimate crown of earning “a good name.” Primacy is given to developing a good reputation over and above political or spiritual power. Formulated in the negative, without a good name, Torah, priesthood, or kingship are not valuable. Political, ritual, and spiritual power are dangerous when accompanied with a bad reputation.
In a 2017 article entitled “Death Before Dishonor: Incurring Costs to Protect Moral Reputation,” Andre Vonasch and colleagues demonstrated the great sacrifice people would endure in order to maintain a moral reputation (including placing their hands in a bucket of worms). They write that “[k]eeping track of reputation is one way by which people incentivize good behavior and enable cooperation with others. Reputation provides information about one’s qualities as a social partner… Although people seek out partners who possess particularly good reputations… people are even more vigilant in avoiding and punishing partners with bad reputations…”
Managing a good reputation is an essential value, particularly for a spiritual leader. Maintaining a good name enables the values he or she embodies to be respected and internalized.
Moving away from the political, and reading the mishna metaphorically in terms of personal development, Shem MiShmuel writes that it is more important to have dominion over the self than to have political dominion over others. Maharal looks at the three crowns as representing three aspects of a person: the sechel, nefesh, and guf – intellect, soul, and body. These three are divine gifts. Developing a good name is the path we need to take to actualize the intellect, soul, and body.
Even though there is no longer priesthood or kingship, Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm looks at these categories as representing divine and community service more broadly. Ideally, a good name, according to Rabbi Lamm, should be earned through the development of the first three crowns. A good name “is not an independent honor.” Rather, it “derives its significance and its value when it is oleh al gabeihen, it rests on the achievements and attainments in Torah, divine service, and community action.” From this perspective, living a life infused with the values of the first three crowns will generate the ideal personality, worthy of praise and admiration from others.
